Driving Distance On Tour...Going To Be Reduced?

RE: Driving Distance On Tour...Going To Be Reduced?

Edward K — Fri, 16 Mar 2018 13:11:06 GMT

I'm 52 and can carry it 280+. Not bragging, but is that MY fault? Back the driver off, it's less complicated. We're only talking decimal points on the COR. Why are we complicating this issue? That way there is no arguing on the first tee as to whether your ProV1 is a 2017 issue, or the new conforming issue. All this because of a few yards in distance gains, when the truth is, a lot of the measured holes on Tour are 3-wood holes for a lot of guys.....Here's the real bottom line, what % of golfers actually compete in anything sanctioned by the USGA? That number is very small.......

RE: Driving Distance On Tour...Going To Be Reduced?

Eric S — Thu, 08 Mar 2018 04:01:28 GMT

Are the balls better today, then 10 years ago? Yes they are, but the telling statistics in the article are, club head speed is up 1.5, launch angle is up, and rpms are down. what does that mean? The ball goes further
My opinion, dont’ let them use trackman. If you haven’t been able to use one, they are amazing. Besides your swing speed, you can dial in your swing, to improve launch angle and decrease rpm’s. Which in turn, makes the ball go further with he driver. Along with every other club in the game
These guys and women are more of an athlete now, then they were just 20 years ago. Stronger, bigger, more flexible, that right there, increases club head speed. Like everything else, instead of looking at the big picture, they are looking for a quick fix

RE: Driving Distance On Tour...Going To Be Reduced?

Allen L — Wed, 07 Mar 2018 09:32:03 GMT

I don't think ball performance is a problem. The pro's are a different lot, compare todays pro's on the PGA tour with those just 20 years ago. The pro's playing today are overall physically conditioned for a powerful golf swing. Today's pro's are adding some excitement to the game with those long drives. USGA and R & A may think there is a problem with ball performance when there really isn't.

RE: Driving Distance On Tour...Going To Be Reduced?

Thomas K — Wed, 07 Mar 2018 01:50:50 GMT

Once you create a shorter ball that will be used at PGA/USGA tournaments, all seven year olds will have to play that ball. All high school golfers will have to play that ball. All college players will have to play that ball. All the tours that send players forward to the major European and US and Asian tours will require using that shorter ball. All USGA sanctioned tournaments will require using that shorter ball. The Metropolitan Golf Association, the Chicago District Golf Association, the ......Whatever Golf Association will require using that ball. Your local club for events that qualify for USGA participation will require that shorter ball. So, even though the VAST majority of players have no issue with the current ball, all of us will be affected. The USGA is staffed with a lot of very smart people, who, over many years, have made a lot of very bad decisions. The short ball will turn out to have been the worst.

RE: Driving Distance On Tour...Going To Be Reduced?

Don O — Tue, 06 Mar 2018 21:11:10 GMT

Agree whole-heartedly with Mark F. Among the 98% of us that average under 275 (and that average is under 210) yards - what courses is Mr. Davis worried they will need to extend for us? Or is he more concerned about the 0.001% of players that generate the money through the Open that pays his salary? Somewhere in the R&A stats, the average distance in the higher handicaps actually declined. So if 90% of golfers never consistently break 90 - we need balls for the vast majority of golfers to go longer. If the USGA represented ALL golfers.

RE: Driving Distance On Tour...Going To Be Reduced?

Rooster — Tue, 06 Mar 2018 21:03:46 GMT

This is what I call fuzzy math. The ball has certain limitations by rule. It is a simple thing to point at for this. What about the improvement's in equipment? how about that the average golfer is taller ( longer swing arc) or fitter? What about the course conditions and the improved equipment and varieties of grasses? we can go on and on. Let's be fair with this. Look at all the factors..

RE: Driving Distance On Tour...Going To Be Reduced?

tdogg21 — Tue, 06 Mar 2018 18:01:15 GMT

It was interesting to see how the R&A and USGA interpreted the data completely differently than the PGA and PGA Tour. Poulter posted to instagram the letter sent to all of the Tour players. Basically it said that over the past 15 years distances have increased 3 times and decreased 5 times. They also made a point to say the average age has gone down and the average height has gone up.

When I read the report, I thought the USGA was going to come out and say there was no evidence the ball is going to far and there are many other factors contributing to the slight increase in distance. With all of the advancements in fitness, diet, and club technology, I would've expected a larger jump than 6.6 yards in 15 years!

RE: Driving Distance On Tour...Going To Be Reduced?

J.R. F — Tue, 06 Mar 2018 16:39:32 GMT

Mark F, I agree with you completely. I am in my mid-50s and I am lucky to carry it 230 yards on 14 holes in a round. I think that they need a different ball for the pros and leave us short hitters alone.

RE: Driving Distance On Tour...Going To Be Reduced?

Mark F — Tue, 06 Mar 2018 15:07:59 GMT

Chris,

You have put together a great collection of data. However, my gripe over all of this conversation is that it is based on the "pro" tours, and Mr. Davis of the USGA is concerned that the "game of golf" will be hurt by this increased distance. My contention is that what the "pros" do does not have a bearing on me. I'm almost 70 yrs old and on a good day I can drive my Titleist about 225-230 yds. I play 45-50 rounds per year and none of them is on a course that holds any kind of pro tournament. As such I could care less if DJ adds 2-3 yds on his drives while playing Pebble Beach or any other top notch course (a concern of Mr. Davis and Mr. Nichlaus). I AM the game of golf, not the top 1-2% of players. If the ruling bodies decide to reign in the ball it will hurt "the game of golf" more for us weekday players than the pros. It will mean that I will take more shots to get to the green since all shots, not just drives, will go shorter. So coming into the green with a 7 iron instead of a 9 iron will mean that I will miss the green more often than I do now and that it will take me longer to play a round. And we all know that pace of play is as much of a concern for the "game" as the "pros" driving distance. My view is that if the USGA and R&A are that worried about distance, then they should shorten the ball for the elite tours and leave the rest of us alone. Bifurcation be damned. Fairways and greens to all.

Mark F

RE: Driving Distance On Tour...Going To Be Reduced?

Bomber3 — Tue, 06 Mar 2018 13:53:11 GMT

Another interesting take on the subject of this article from golf channel.com which talks about the Titleist/Acushnet response to the distance debate.

www.golfchannel.com/.../